KARACHI, Feb 4: The termite-infested wooden roof of Khaliqdina Hall is in urgent need of repair. The building, which is protected by the Sindh Cultural Heritage Protection Act , was restored by the now defunct Karachi Metropolitan Corporation a couple of years ago at a cost of Rs15 million.

The former KMC administrator, Fahim Zaman Khan, said he was surprised that the roof of the building was in such poor condition. He recalled that the structure had collapsed following rains a couple of years back. "The KMC engaged leading architect Yaavar Jeelani to carry out the renovation and conservation work. He was kind enough to do the work for Re1 only," he said.

Mr Jeelani was not immediately available for comments.

When contacted, the district officer of the city government's culture and sports department, Saifur Rahman Grami, said the engineering department of the city government had carried out a termite treatment as part of the conversation project.

He said the city government carried out maintenance work as and when required. He added that since the hall did not have a fine acoustic, it was let out very infrequently. He said that religious organizations which rented out the hall did not pay the city government anything.

Qari Hilal Ahmad Rabbani of the Khaliqdina Hall Library Association said that the city government had done nothing for Khaliqdina Hall Library. He said the steps taken by the city government to prevent seepage of water into the building had failed.

"The city government is supposed to pay the Khaliqdina Hall Library Association the amount it earns through rent. But it does not. Similarly, the city government procrastinated about setting up a water cooler here for so long that the Association had to install one," he claimed. However, Mr Grami said that under no agreement the city was supposed to pay the Khaliqdina Hall Library Association the amount it earned through rent.

Shedding light on the architectural and historical aspect of the building in her book, Karachi the dual city during the Raj, well-known architect Yasmeen Lari writes: "Khaliqdina Hall was constructed in 1906 for the recreational and literary pursuits of the native population, the first building built by local Muslim philanthropists for such a purpose...It was constructed as a result of a generous donation of Rs18,000 by Ghulam Hussein Khalikdina. Not surprisingly, the building utilizes classical elements in its design and disregards local architectural elements...Khaliqdina Hall assumed historical significance as the venue of an important event in the struggle for freedom from colonial rule...The fiery speeches made by the Jauhar brothers, Maulana Shaukat Ali and Mohammad Ali, during the Khilafat Conference were not viewed favourably by the rulers, who arrested them on the charge of incitement against the British government and tried them at the Khaliqdina Hall."

Subsequently, the photographs of leaders, belonging to the Muslim, Hindu, Christian and Parsi communities, were displayed in the hall showing the harmony in which the people belonging to different faiths used to live in the city. The statue and the photographs are no more at the hall.

Soon after Independence a session of the All India Muslim League, presided over by Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, was held at the hall. The teak-wood stage on which the "trial of sedition" was held and from which Mr Jinnah presided over the Muslim League session, has gone missing. An FIR has been lodged with the Eidgah police station, but so far no action has been taken by the police.